Battle of the Soul

by Carl Alves

  Andy banged his fist on the desk. “Did he use the old rituals?”

  Monsignor Curran nodded.

  “That shit doesn’t work.”

  “It has worked in the past.”

  Andy rolled his eyes. “Maybe if you’re going against some minor demon who doesn’t know his head from his tail. Come on, you know better than that.”

  “Father Christopher felt there was no alternative. I trusted his judgment.”

  Andy threw his hands in the air. “And now he’s dead.”

  Monsignor Curran nodded.

  Andy decided not to press the issue anymore. It was obvious Monsignor felt bad enough about what had happened to his friend. “What about the girl?”

  Monsignor Curran appeared to be lost in thought. “Excuse me?”

  “The girl who was possessed.”

  Monsignor Curran sighed. “She’s still in the same state.”

  “Great! So, he died for nothing.”

  “Yes.”

  “Give me the address. I’m heading over.”

  Monsignor Curran provided him the address, which Andy entered on his cell phone.

  “Tell me the story,” Andy said.

  “This has been going on for a few months now.”

  Andy’s brow furrowed. “Months?”

  “Yes. It’s a truly peculiar case. The girl, an eight-year-old named Kate, began showing the classic signs of demonic possession. The unusual part was that it came and went. She would be good for a week, and then all of a sudden she would have violent outbreaks. Father Christopher had been monitoring her progress over the last few weeks. He documented her speaking in Akkadian, dramatic changes in her skin color, wild behavioral changes. But they came in short bursts. She would return to being a normal, healthy little girl. Her mother, Holly, took her to a pediatrician as well as a psychiatrist. They couldn’t find anything wrong with her, and Kate would not speak of these lapses.

  “Holly was frustrated and turned to Father Christopher. Having never heard of a case like hers, he contacted a source in the Vatican. His source searched Church records but could not find a possession like this one. In the past week Kate’s condition deteriorated. That’s when Father Christopher decided an exorcism was needed. I had been waiting to hear from him, and then…”

  Andy ran his fingers through his wavy hair. He had never heard of anything like this either. Once you were possessed, you didn’t go back to your normal self until the demon was exorcised. “How long had the exorcism been going on for?”

  “Two days.”

  “And she remained possessed the whole time?”

  Monsignor Curran used a handkerchief to wipe his damp eyes. “Yes.”

  “And she’s still in the same condition now?”

  “Yes.”

  “This is some weird shit,” Andy said. “Well, there’s no time to dwell on it. Call the mom and let her know I’m heading over.”

  Monsignor Curran nodded. “I will.”

  Andy raced to his Mustang, turned on the ignition, and floored the accelerator.

  As Andy drove over the Walt Whitman Bridge into Jersey, he kept churning in his head what Monsignor Curran had told him. It didn’t make sense. He wasn’t a historian on exorcisms, but he had never heard of someone reverting to their normal state after possession unless they had been exorcised. Once a demon got into a person’s soul, they stayed until they killed the person or sucked them dry, leaving the person shattered.

  He could only think of two scenarios, and neither made sense. Either the girl was somehow fighting off the demon, or it was voluntarily leaving. It didn’t seem possible that a young girl could have the fortitude to fight off a demon. Although he had never personally seen it, Monsignor Curran had told him of instances where people had rid themselves of their possession by sheer will.

  The other possibility also seemed remote. Why would a demon voluntarily leave a possessed soul? They were greedy bastards taking everything they could from a person. If they left her soul and reentered later, why was she healthy and normal during the respites? Most people recovering from a possession were messed up. Even the ones who had no memory of what had happened were shaky afterward, just like Roy had been.

  One thing was clear. He was dealing with a powerful demon. In the cases where he had been summoned to clean up the mess after a priest had died, the demon was always seriously bad ass. He was up to the challenge. Battling major demons sharpened his skills. No matter how tough the fight was, he had always managed to overcome his adversary—until now at least.

  He glanced at the directions as he drove to Hammonton. Way over the speed limit, he hoped he wouldn’t get pulled over. Maybe the Big Guy would watch over him and make sure no cops stopped him.

  Traffic was light, and within an hour he reached Hammonton. He assumed by now Monsignor Curran had contacted the girl’s mom. Andy was good at exorcising demons, not talking to people.

  The neighborhood looked calm and peaceful from the outside.

  He didn’t want any police involvement in Father Christopher’s death. Hopefully, the local church claimed he had died of natural causes. Andy had work to do and didn’t want them to get in his way. Whatever demon occupied this girl’s body, he was going to give it extreme payback for killing Father Christopher. The demon was going to regret the day he escaped the dark side of Hell to venture into his world.

  He parked the car, his face flushed and his hands trembling. He had never wanted to put a hurting on a demon this badly. Normally, his sole concern was protecting the possessed, but this situation was personal. Damned personal.

  He rang the doorbell, waited for a brief period before ringing again. After a minute, there was no response. He was about to rap on the door, when it opened. The moment the door opened, all his hate and anger dissipated. He stood there dumbfounded, unable to speak. All he could do was stand and look stupid, forgetting the reason why he had come here.

  Chapter VIII

  The woman standing in front of Andy was breath taking. She looked wholesome and natural. It was hard to pinpoint why, but she seemed to radiate goodness and warmth. Not much older than him, she looked to be in her mid-twenties with straight blonde hair and a slightly freckled face with soft features filled with sadness. He felt like reaching out and touching her face, but didn’t dare, not wanting to spoil perfection.

  Without having spoken a word to her, he felt compelled to help.

  “Hello. Are you Andy Lorenzo?”

  “Um, yeah, that’s me. I, um, I’m here, you know, to, uh…”

  “Did Monsignor Curran send you?”

  Andy nodded. He was babbling like an idiot. The look of uncertainty in her eyes suggested that she thought there was no way in hell this loser standing in front of her could possibly do anything to help her daughter.

  “Please come inside.”

  Andy followed her.

  She put her hands to her face and sobbed. “Oh, God, I can’t take it anymore. Monsignor Curran told me you can help Kate. She’s…she’s in real bad shape.”

  With a cautious hand, Andy touched her shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. I can help her.”

  “I hope so because I’m out of options.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Holly Bradford.”

  “I’m Andy.”

  They shook hands. Her skin felt soft. Damn, he couldn’t even think straight around her.

  “You heard about Father Christopher?”

  Andy nodded.

  “He was such a nice man. I’m not even Catholic or anything, but he got me believing that faith and God could help my daughter. Now, I’m not sure anything can help her and I’m so desperate. My poor Kate’s so sweet and innocent. I’ll do anything to save her.”

  Holly got a tissue and blew her nose. “I feel so bad about what happened to Father Christopher. He tried to help, and I thought he would. He was so confident.”

  Andy turned away. He had to get his act together. In awe of her beauty,
staring at Holly wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

  “Look, um, Father Christopher was a great man and he had the best intentions, but, he was overmatched.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you see, he tried to go old school on them, but those rituals don’t work anymore. What I do is totally different.”

  Holly frowned.

  “It’s hard to explain. The only thing that matters is that I can help your daughter. I’m going to exorcise this demon.”

  Her eyes brightened. “Can you really?”

  “Yeah, I can. Your daughter’s going to make it through this.”

  “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

  “I’ll be in and out of there before you know it.” As he spoke, Andy realized he had gotten Holly’s hopes sky high. He had complete confidence in his own abilities and wouldn’t let her down. He didn’t know how he would be able to live with himself if he didn’t come through for her. Normally, he wasn’t so over the top with his assurances, but he wanted so badly to end her pain.

  Andy looked around the modest house. Although not much bigger than his apartment, it was well maintained. The furniture looked old, but in good condition. There were no fancy decorations, just pictures of Holly and a pretty little girl who clearly got her looks from her mother. A half-empty bottle of vodka suggested Holly had been trying to wash away her problems with alcohol, a method he frequently tried.

  Inhuman shouts came from upstairs. They were harsh and guttural, spoken in a foreign language.

  Holly folded her hands. “You have to make this stop. Kate’s the most perfect little girl you could imagine. Now, she’s become something terrible. I want my little girl back.”

  “And you will. Let’s see her.”

  He followed Holly up a flight of stairs. A stench came from one of the rooms. He sensed a horrible, negative vibe unlike anything he had ever felt before. It screamed at him to get the hell out of here and never come back again. He stopped, his hands trembling.

  Holly turned and stared at him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Let’s go inside.” Andy had to force his legs to move. He had seen it all before, so what in that room could be so frightening?

  The answer smacked him in the face as soon as Holly opened the door. He couldn’t stop himself from gasping. Kate’s aura was overwhelming. It had a physical presence. The air surrounding her was fluorescent green. He had never seen anything like it.

  Kate hissed as they entered the room. The eight-year-old girl was no longer there. In front of him was a pure manifestation of evil. She had been strapped to her bed with thick cords of rope. She peered forward, the veins in her neck bulging. Her eyes glowed bright orange. Her hair was a jumbled mess. A grin revealed pointy teeth.

  Andy couldn’t understand a word of the venom that spewed from her lips. It sounded like an ancient tongue, perhaps Akkadian like Monsignor Curran had mentioned, although he didn’t need a translation to know she was shouting vile curses at him.

  Holly moved forward to her daughter, fresh tears streaming down her face. “Kate, don’t do this. Please, Kate, it’s Mommy.”

  Andy grabbed Holly’s arm. “That isn’t your daughter.”

  Holly’s eyes pleaded with him. “You have to help her. Please.”

  “I will.”

  The girl’s head turned at an unnatural angle. She smiled and spoke in a gravelly voice. “Come and play. I’ve been waiting for you.”

  Andy’s lip trembled. He was going to lay some serious hurt on this demon unlike he had ever done before. Killing this thing wasn’t enough. He wanted to torture the demon inside this poor little girl.

  He put his hand on Holly’s shoulder. “It’s time for you to leave. I’ve got some business to take care of.”

  “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  Andy shook his head. “No. I fly solo. Don’t worry. I’m going to rescue your daughter, and I’m going to open a can of whoop-ass on this demon.”

  Holly frowned. “Um, okay.” She exited the room, leaving the door open.

  Andy faced the possessed child.

  “Andy Lorenzo, so pleased that you can join us.” This time the voice sounded refined, like an English gentleman. “We were wondering when you would arrive.”

  “What the hell is going on here?” A possessed person had never addressed him by name before.

  This time the voice was low and guttural. “You sure you want to come inside? You may not be able to leave.”

  “Go to hell.” He clenched his fists, his rage building.

  “You can join us if you like.”

  “Enough of this shit.” Andy sat on the bed and grabbed Kate’s shoulders.

  Chapter IX

  Instead of his usual graceful entry into the land of the soul, Andy crashed onto the ground. He jumped to his feet when he realized he had landed on a surface that had the appearance of lava.

  “Christ!”

  The air was cool and crisp, disorienting him since his brain was telling him it should be scorching hot. After moving to solid ground, he scanned the area. It was like he had stepped into one of the seven circles of hell. All around him were canyons, gulches, and deep outcroppings of molten rock. Lava flowed freely between the crevices of the rough ground. Fireballs shot across the sky. For a while he stood riveted, unable to take his eyes off this blazing inferno.

  Focus on what you’re here for. He had a job to do, a little girl to save. Not just a little girl, but sweet, beautiful Holly’s daughter. It wasn’t like this stuff could actually hurt him. Just to prove his point, he reached down and touched the lava.

  He yelped and retracted his hand. “Son of a…” He stared at his red and inflamed hand. Just what the hell was going on here? The physical manifestations of the landscape and environment had never had an effect on him before. He had walked through walls of flame without so much as getting singed in the past.

  He had to find the girl. Then he could exorcise the demon and be gone. This place freaked him out, and he did not want to spend a moment longer here than he had to. He could only imagine how terrified Kate must be. Poor girl.

  He focused on the area around him using his telescopic vision. He could turn it on and off just by thinking about it. At least this place hadn’t dulled his senses.

  Something far in the distance caught his attention. It was small and had blonde hair. Had to be Kate. She was wandering aimlessly. He cracked his knuckles. It was time to get busy.

  He ran to her, not able to go as fast as he would like because of the lava. Occasionally he stepped on the flowing black and red substance, scorching his feet. It wasn’t enough to disable him, just enough to slow him down.

  When he got close to the girl, the earth began shaking, causing him to lose his balance. He was running so fast that he stumbled and flew, landing face first into a patch of molten rock. He clenched both fists and screamed. It felt like boiling water had scolded his face. He wiped his face and searched for a stream or a lake that he could dunk his head into, but had no such luck. This place was one big fiery pit. This demon had to be incredibly powerful to control this environment so thoroughly.

  He got to his feet and ran toward Kate. She screamed. He probably looked like crap after landing on the molten rock and burning his face. Maybe he resembled the demon that tormented her.

  “It’s okay, Kate.” He held up his hands, but the gesture did not seem to soothe her hysteria. “Everything’s going to be all right. I’m here to help you.”

  As he got closer, her screaming intensified. She was having a nuclear meltdown. He wanted her to stop, but didn’t know how. It’s not like he was a child psychologist.

  “My name’s Andy. I’m going to get you out of here.”

  He reached for her shoulder, but she shrank away and shrieked louder. The possessed usually reacted so well to him. Nothing was going right in this exorcism.

  He had to keep her calm. “Kate, your mommy sent me to help you. She’s really wo
rried about you.”

  Kate’s screaming slowed and eventually stopped. Her entire body shook as she sobbed. It broke his heart to see this little girl in so much pain. “My mommy?”

  “Yeah. Your mommy wants you back, so she sent me to get you. You can trust me. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Kate trembled. She began sobbing once more.

  Andy lowered himself so they were at eye level. “Kate, your mommy’s very worried about you. She sent me to save you from the bad guy. I’m going to take care of you.”

  “You can’t help me.”

  Andy raised her chin. “Have you ever watched Superman?”

  Kate nodded, no longer crying.

  “Well, I’m Superman’s big brother. I taught him everything he knows.”

  “But you don’t look like Superman. Where’s your cape?”

  Andy smiled. “I’m so good I don’t even need a cape. Now I’m going to take care of the bad guy, and we’re going to blow this joint. Got it?”

  Kate nodded.

  “I need your help. Tell me where he’s at. As soon as I finish him off, we’re going to leave, and you’ll never come back here again.” He ran his fingers through her curly blonde hair. “The bad guy won’t hurt you anymore. He’s afraid of me. Just show me where he is.”

  Before she could answer, a loud shriek came from behind them. Andy turned, his hands clenched.

  Andy relaxed his guard at the sight of the purple demon, all thin and wispy and completely harmless to him.

  “Andy Lorenzo, so nice of you to join us today,” Kra-lex said. “I was wondering when you would arrive.”

  Something didn’t smell right. Kra-lex was a minor demon with a lowercase ‘m’. He could dust Kra-lex without breaking a sweat. So how the hell could Kra-lex have caused such havoc, killing Father Christopher in the process? Even those useless old school Roman Catholic exorcism rites should have expelled this worthless demon.